This weekend, the Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts was on the ground in Toronto, attending the second annual gathering of New Housing Alternatives, a pan-Canadian research initiative, as well as the public launch for the related Housing Commons Research Centre.

Commencing just one day after the City of Toronto evicted a nearby encampment in the Kensington Market neighbourhood, the gathering unfolded in an atmosphere of frustration and urgency. Participants were unified by a hunger for meaningful action on a national housing emergency that continues to escalate.

About New Housing Alternatives

New Housing Alternatives (NHA) is a seven‑year research partnership launched in 2024, exploring how to transform Canada’s housing system through lenses of decommodification, definancialization, and decolonization.

Uniting researchers and community partners, NHA is responding to the most-pressing knowledge gaps facing those working towards a just and equitable housing system.

In its first year, NHA funded eight projects, four of which are led by community land trusts:

Learn more about these projects (as well as the other four projects funded by NHA) here.

Launching the Housing Commons Research Centre

CNCLT is a co-lead on the new Housing Commons Research Centre, whose Friday launch event drew more than 100 people.

The event, entitled Reimagining Housing as a Commons, opened with an overview of commons theory by Dr. Susannah Bunce before moving into a lively panel discussion centering community-led housing, the commons, and research.

Featuring speakers from the co-operative housing sector, a supportive housing organization, two community land trusts, and a local encampment support network, the event brought together a breadth of knowledge and experiences rarely put into direct conversation.

Part philosophical, part strategic, the discussion explored how each panellist’s work intersects with (or diverges from) the concept of the commons, while also reflecting on—and at times critiquing—the role of academic research in the movement for community-led housing.

Thank you to each of our panellists who provided a thought-provoking discussion, perhaps leaving us with more questions than answers:

  • Chiyi Tam of Toronto Chinatown Land Trust
  • Norm Leech of Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House & Downtown Eastside CLT
  • Jessu Upton Crowe & Babie, both encampment support providers & mutual aid advocates
  • Courtney Lockhart of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada

Next steps for the HCRC include:

  • A webinar series launching this fall
  • The official launch of the Housing Commons Student Circle, which held two focus groups this spring to shape a virtual space for students interested in community-led housing

If you are—or know—a student interested in joining this space, please reach out to: info@housingcommonsresearch.ca

Keeping Connected

To keep connecting with the broader New Housing Alternatives project, check out the blog, Bluesky, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

To keep connected with the Housing Commons Research Centre, check out the blog, instagram, Bluesky and LinkedIn.